Why the Warriors had no regrets skipping White House visit for tour of African American history museum

By Mark Medina, Bay Area News Group

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The confidence in their body language told the whole story. So did the resolve and firm tone in their voice.

Did the Warriors have any regrets for skipping the customary White House visit to celebrate their 2017 NBA championship?

"No," Warriors forward Kevin Durant said. "Not at all."

Warriors forward David West shook his head and offered the same answer to the same question. A long five months have passed since this controversy first brewed.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry became the face of this controversy after publicly admitting before training camp he would refuse to visit the White House, regardless of team sentiment. The next morning, President Donald Trump singled out Curry in a tweet before formally rescinding an invitation. Though the Warriors have strong reservations about Trump’s policies, their public statements mostly addressed his divisive rhetoric toward minorities, women, the disabled, Muslims, as well as athletes who protest racial inequality and police brutality during the national anthem.

The Warriors found the discourse so distasteful. So, they did not want to participate in a photo opportunity with a president they believe have significantly played a role in poisoning that dialogue. Given that framework, the Warriors also had strong reservations that any private conversation about their concerns would actually lead into anything substantial.

"Rhetoric and hate generated from the top in trying to be divisive had the opposite reaction in what it intended," Curry said. "We’ve done our part, I think, to try to further that message. As guys around the league understand the power of their voice and having each other’s back and spreading love and positivity, that has been the biggest thing I’ve noticed in the last eight months to a year. That’s healthy. I think that’s what we’re all trying to accomplish."

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Therefore, the Warriors spent their off-day on Tuesday in a different way. The Warriors took a private tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. They invited 40 students from Durant’s hometown in Seat Pleasant, Md. as well as 10 other students with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), which helps those who lost a loved one that served in the military. The Warriors (47-14) also will invite 30 other students from Seat Pleasant for Wednesday’s game against the Wizards (36-25).

"We wanted to do something that would be impactful and something we wanted to share," West said. "We felt like young people, we want to give them an opportunity to experience that. To experience us in that kind of environment would be most impactful."

Could that be more impactful than visiting the commander in chief? Warriors coach Steve Kerr respectfully said, "you’re not going to get me to go down that path." When taking into account his views on Trump and what he took away of the Warriors’ off-day itinerary, the answer seems pretty self-explanatory.

"The kids, their smiles lit up the room, and our guys understand how much of an impact they can make on these kids," Kerr said. "It’s a reminder of how powerful sports can be and how transformative sports can be for change – and not just the experience for kids but witnessing the exhibits in the museum. The whole experience was fantastic."

The Warriors offered various superlatives to explain that fantastic experience.

Kerr described the visit as "amazing", a "productive outing" and "great day." Curry considered it a "great experience." Durant said he had "a great time." West added the exhibit served as a "pretty good on-hand experience for young people."

As a result, the Warriors walked away with memories that resonated with them a day after and beyond.

"If you’ve never been before, you have to go," Kerr said. "It’s one of the most powerful experiences you’ll ever have."

Half of the Warriors spent last year’s off-day in Washington D.C. visiting the same museum. Even though they went for about two or three hours, Kerr said many on the team walked away thinking, "we need, four or five hours." West already visited the museum on Tuesday, and yet he felt like he had not spent enough time at all the exhibits.

That is because the museum does not camouflage anything on African American history. It explores in depth the various ramifications regarding slavery, Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights era and how institutional racism affects housing, educational and economic policies. The museum also touches on African American culture.

"The way the museum is designed is beautiful. It goes from despair and hopelessness at the beginning of the African American history – the slave trade. You’re at the bottom of the museum almost as if you’re at the bottom of a slave ship," Kerr said. "You read about the experiences. You read about the history. It’s just devastating and you wonder about the human spirit and you wonder about people – are they good or are they evil?"

And then when the Warriors arrived at the top level of the museum…

"There’s this amazing cultural excellence in the African American community through sports, history, politics, medicine, music," Kerr said. "It’s really uplifting, but it’s also very demoralizing at the same time so you run through that whole gamut of emotions."

And the Warriors had a lot of time to process those emotions.

"The basement and bottom floor is very powerful with the introduction and just the journey. As you go up, it brings you to more current and modern times," West said. "There’s a lot of content and a lot of little pieces that you have to be meticulous on how you’re going through it and what you’re reading. It’s good. You have a lot of solid material in there. It’s a great story. That’s what is most powerful to me the story that they tell from the very beginning all the way to the top."

Therefore, West’s third visit entailed soaking in an exhibit on Paul Robeson, a singer and actor that became involved with the Civil Rights movement. West also helped students find an exhibit on slain hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur, whose profane and violent lyrics often became more overshadowed than his songs about poverty and racism. West also praised the teachers and chaperones in answering the student’s questions.

"It was beautiful," said Durant, who visited the museum for the first time. "We put a lot of time and effort into it. It shows a lot about African American culture. I feel like everyone needs to see it."

For those who saw it, the memories went beyond the exhibits. It included the interactions.

"When we all kind of congregated in the culture exhibit, they had a lot of crazy questions and energy that was exactly what we were trying to accomplish with the whole day," Curry said. "I think it turned out great."

What were the most interesting questions? Curry said there "were too many to Rolodex." But Curry mostly remembered when he saw between 10-15 students spending time at an exhibit that highlighted the various musical genres in African American history. After creating their own musical playlist, the students danced to the songs they chose.

More laughter ensued when an eight-year-old boy named Ryan saddled next to Kerr. After completing a 16-year NBA career as a dependable outside shooter on five NBA championship teams, Kerr joked, "they know me as the guy who used to do the video game commentary on 2K." But the eight-year-old recognized someone else.

"Oh my God, there’s Quinn Cook!," Kerr recalled the boy saying.

The boy then ran over to Cook, who grew up in the Washington D.C. area.

"That was cool," Kerr said. "You could see so many of these kids knew all of our players, not just our superstars."

The Warriors said they felt the same nostalgia.

"I felt like a kid in there as well with figuring things out and learning new things about our culture and about the people that fought for us to be here right now,” Durant said. “I went in there just like one of those kids — happy to learn and happy to be there."

Durant’s happiness partly traced to students from his hometown attending the exhibit. Durant also recently donated $10 million to Prince George’s County Public Schools and College Track, an after-school program that helps disadvantaged students attend college with financial and mentorship support.

Therefore, Durant expressed gratitude to the Warriors’ front office, general manager Bob Myers, Curry and Draymond Green for their various suggestions that included making this trip.

"I can’t thank enough about them. Those guys are just amazing people. For them to do that for us and my community, that meant a lot to me," Durant said. "I never got the opportunity to see the people I looked up to as a kid. To give them that experience, I got to thank the Warriors organization for thinking about me. It means a lot."

It also meant a lot to Kerr.

"I’m so proud of our guys. I’m proud of the NBA. I’m proud of being part of the league because so many guys out there on every team are really doing positive things," Kerr said. "They understand their impact on communities. They understand their impact in individual connections with people."

Beyond his recent partnership with Prince George Public Schools, Durant recently donated $3 million to the University of Texas’ athletic department to renovate its athletic center. Curry has helped reduce malaria with the United Nations’ "Nothing but Nets" campaign and have raised scholarships for military families with ThanksUSA. Warriors guard Klay Thompson has raised money to help with North Bay Fire relief efforts. Green joined the advisory board of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) in 2015, which helps collaborate partnerhsips with law enforcement, schools and inner city youth. West has hosted clinics in various nations in Africa.

"We’ve got good guys. A lot of teams have really good guys," Kerr said. "So many teams around the league are doing so much good. But our team is in the spotlight every single day, good and bad. But I think our guys handle it so well. I think the fact that because we are winning and getting a lot of exposure, they’re doing a lot of good that’s being exposed and being talked about. That’s a good thing, but that’s not why they’re doing it. They’re doing it out of the goodness of their heart and their care for their communities and people. It makes me very proud."

It also has made the Warriors proud about dismissing any criticism about their outspokenness on Trump.

"Coming from the neighborhoods we come from, you see a lot of stuff that is way worse than a tweet, a thought or an opinion," Durant said. "You just keep trucking and keep believing in yourself and keep doing the things I’ve been doing. I’m at a point in my life where I’ve done things the right way in order for me to get here and be successful."

Kerr also reached a point where he resisted speaking too much about Trump on Wednesday. Kerr had only missed the White House celebration when he switched NBA teams (1999) or retired (2004). Otherwise, Kerr attended the customary ceremony for championship teams as a player in stints with the Chicago Bulls (1993-99) and the San Antonio Spurs (1999-2001, 2002-03) as well when he coached the Warriors’ 2015 NBA championship team. Kerr declined to entertain if this latest adventure trumped any visit to the Oval Office.

"I’m not going down that path," Kerr said. "Sorry."

Instead, the Warriors wanted their visit to speak for itself.

"It’s how unifying it has been with the conversation around how sports has mingled in with not just with politics, but the change in society," Curry said. "Everybody has a voice. When you come to the arena tonight, you’ll see people from all different walks of life and people from all different backgrounds enjoying entertainment and sports on the court. It brings people together. I think that’s how it manifested itself in this whole conversation."